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The Webster-Dudley Foodshare in Mass. relies on donations from the public (Published Tuesday, May 13, 2014)

(NECN: Siobhan Lopez) – Overnight into Thursday, dozens of boxes and cans of food were stolen from the Webster-Dudley Foodshare in Massachusetts. Now, donations are pouring in almost as quickly as they were stolen.

“We had ten boxes ready for large families, they were all gone,” said Donna Farrow, the director of the foodshare.

“It's really upsetting when something like this happens, but people really rally around each other,” added Michael Shaw of the Webster Police Department.

Police put the word out on Facebook and immediately, people volunteered to donate food and money.

Farrow says she's disappointed someone would steal donations, but she's overwhelmed by the outreach from the community.

“The people here just warm the cockles of your heart,” she said.

Farrow says that if the people who stole the food needed it, she would have given it to them, and that’s what bothers her the most.

“It's kind of hard to think people need to steal free food. All they need to do is ask ... The only criteria is that you live in Webster or Dudley,” she explained.

Last year, the foodshare served more than ten thousand people. They rely on donations from the public.

Police say there were no signs of forced entry and no witnesses to the theft; they're looking into surveillance video from nearby businesses.

“Obviously we take every crime seriously, but something like this given the magnitude and the services they provide, it's something we really, really are going to get to the bottom of,” Officer Shaw said.

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